Genomics-based precision breeding approaches to improve drought tolerance in rice

Rice (Oryza sativa L.), the major staple food crop of the world, faces a severe threat from widespread drought. The development of drought-tolerant rice varieties is considered a feasible option to counteract drought stress. The screening of rice germplasm under drought and its characterization at the morphological, genetic, and molecular levels revealed the existence of genetic variation for drought tolerance within the rice gene pool. The improvements made in managed drought screening and selection for grain yield under drought have significantly contributed to progress in drought breeding programs. The availability of rice genome sequence information, genome-wide molecular markers, and low-cost genotyping platforms now makes it possible to routinely apply marker-assisted breeding approaches to improve grain yield under drought. Grain yield QTLs with a large and consistent effect under drought have been indentified and successfully pyramided in popular rice mega-varieties. Various rice functional genomics resources, databases, tools, and recent advances in “-omics” are facilitating the characterization of genes and pathways involved in drought tolerance, providing the basis for candidate gene identification and allele mining. The transgenic approach is successful in generating drought tolerance in rice under controlled conditions, but field-level testing is necessary. Genomics-assisted drought breeding approaches hold great promise, but a well-planned integration with standardized phenotyping is highly essential to exploit their full potential.     

医学研究生开展转录组学课程必要性的探讨

转录组学是生命科学领域的一门交叉型、发展快速的前沿性学科。随着高通量测序技术的迅猛发展,在收集、整合及数据挖掘的基础上全面系统的研究转录组成为可能。目前,利用转录组学的理论及技术研究疾病的转录组信息,系统全面阐明其基因表达调控规律,构建其基因调控网络,已经成为医学研究领域的热点。通过在医学研究生中开展转录组学这门课程,使研究生掌握其中的科研思维和方法,帮助研究生更清晰地认识疾病发生发展的分子机制,并通过学习这门课程提高研究生的科研能力和水平。